The present invention relates to a method for storing a data segment in a storage tier of a storage unit comprising at least two storage tiers, a corresponding computer program product, a processing unit for storing a data segment in a storage tier of a storage unit comprising at least two storage tiers and a storage system.
Today's multi-tiered storage systems are especially suited for offering a trade-off between high performance and efficient low-cost long-term storage of data. However, very limited intelligence is usually available to determine without human intervention within which tier and with what protection level a certain data file should be stored. While today's approach may be adequate for most applications given the number and size of data files that need to be stored and retrieved, it appears that a new paradigm is needed to address the challenges posed by applications where a very large amount of data is to be stored and valuable information is to be reliably identified, stored, and accessed. Examples of so-called big data applications are emerging in various fields, including social networks, sensor networks, and huge archives of business, scientific and government records. One of the ultimate big data challenges, however, is represented by a Square Kilometer Array (SKA) telescope, expected to be completed in 2024, whose antennas will gather tens of exabytes of data and store petabytes of data every day. Another significant big data challenge arises in the healthcare industry, where personalized medicine and large-scale cohort studies may require storage of medical data for extended periods of time.